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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · press · pitcher · band · shower · foot · present · file

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. file — a document
  3. present — the time now
  4. shower — rain
  5. present — there
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. press — a publisher
  9. present — a gift
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — for catching
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. foot — a measure
  16. band — a ring
  17. file — a line of people
  18. shower — to wash
  19. file — a tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. net — after costs

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com